Month: April 2012

Just a little pick me up and supplement to the caffeine for your Monday morning blues (this vid has made the rounds). Whatever you’re struggling with this week: physical pain, nasty coworkers, financial woes, taking the training wheels off, family drama or just the humdrum routine of another work cycle. This charming little tyke is speaking into your life:

THUMBS UP EVERYBODY FOR ROCK AND ROLL!

You can get better, I know it!

Tony Robbins better watch his back, this kid has the motivational market on lock for the next 60 years if he so chooses to take it. I’m going to go ahead and pre-emptively nominate this young man for US president in 31 years.

By Pastor Tom Lyonof Providence Reformed Baptist Church of University Place,Washington

Preaching has fallen on hard times. The great Protestant Reformer, John Calvin, wrote: “At the present day there are many who are well-nigh sickened by the very name of preaching, because there are so many stupid, ignorant men who blurt out their worthless brain waves from the pulpit.” That was 450 years ago! Today not only has preaching been decentralized, but the greater part of what is called “preaching” no longer deserves to be at the center. This has created a vacuum and few have raised a voice while a Pandora’s Box of replacements has rushed in to fill the void.”

A.W. Tozer said of the danger: “One of the most popular current errors, and the one out of which springs most of the noisy, blustering religious activity in evangelical circles, is the notion that as times change…

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He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:3)

Sometimes the question is proposed concerning the efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ: “How can one man’s sacrifice cover the sins of every man and woman who ever lived? That’s impossible.”

And yes, if it was a mere man who sacrificed, it would indeed be an impossible task for his blood to effectively cover the sins of many worldwide.

But Scripture doesn’t count Jesus Christ as just any Tom, Dick, or Josephus.

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and exact imprint of His nature” (Heb 1:3)

He is Radiance of the Father’s Glory. You want know the glory of God? You want to see the face of God? Look unto Jesus (2 Cor. 4:4,6) He is the manifest radiance –streaming out of Him-of God. When I say my wife is radiant, people know what I mean. I am speaking about her physical beauty, but not just her outward beauty; there is an inward character that makes her whole being “radiant” to me.

Christ is God’s manifest beauty, His light.

Christ is no mere mortal, He is the definitive and full representation of Yahweh. The wording “exact imprint” is from the Greek word “charakter,” meaning the very essence of God. The Father and Son share identity. And it is the Son who “upholds all thing by His word.” Every molecule in our body and every law in the universe is kept, preserved, and sustained by the current word of this Christ. Christ is the only reason our bodies don’t collapse like accordions under the weight of gravity.

The value and glory of the son of God (the universe sustainer) makes him laying down His life so much greater.

Verse 2 also claims He created all things. Jesus has creation rights over the whole natural world. And He doesn’t sit back idly like a Deistic unaffected clock maker. He created and then He entered into that creation. Jesus Christ wrote the screenplay. Then He inexplicably wrote Himself into the screenplay. He even outlined and reserved the most tragic excruciating role for Himself (Isaiah 53).

God is not an absentee Father or busy Taskmaker, He burns with the same passions Jesus burns with in the Gospels. No wonder Jesus says “If you have seen me you have seen the Father” (John 10)

Jesus is a chip off the old block.

But why would this glorious One stoop so low?

Sin.

Drastic problems call for drastic measures.

This is the universal grip of death, tragedy, heartache, and evil (Romans 3:23) Look at even the smallest children. There is an innocence there but there is also a latent sin nature. I didn’t have to teach my two year old son to deceive.

“Josiah, did you eat the cookie I left on the table?”

With chocolate smeared in the corner of his mouth: “Noooo.”

Though some people get better at hiding this nature as adults, it doesn’t go away.

And God hates this sin. “God is love” is the oft quoted verse of our time, and that is so true. Yet God hates sin. The cross displays both of those realities perfectly. God’s love for us is emanating out from cross. God’s hatred for sin is being poured out onto Jesus during the cross. God hates sin and that’s why He had to pour out his wrath. (Isaiah 53:11) “It pleased God to crush Him. ….”

After making purification. It was a “Once for all” sacrifice as Hebrews points out numerous times. Jesus is not just Creator and Sustainer. Jesus is our personal High Priest. Our Go-between.

In the Old Testament the high priest had to enter once a year into the Holy of Holies to kill an animal on behalf of the people’s sins. Yet this priest was also sinner. This OT act was a shadow of the reality to come in Christ. Christ entered to the heavenly Holies once and for all (Hebrews 9:24). Yet He didn’t kill a scapegoat. Shockingly, He turned the knife on Himself. And the blameless blood that spilled out was perfect, holy and able to purify a people forevermore before God.

“Once and for all”, means for all our sins. Those past, present, and future transgressions. And Hebrews 7:25 says this same sympathetic High Priest “lives to make intercession” for us. He didn’t resurrect and ascend to just sit on His comfortable throne and eat celestial grapes. He’s a living advocate before the Holy Father right now. For the sin we committed last night. For the sin we commit tonight. For the sin we may commit on our deathbed 50 years from now.

Jesus Christ utterly blotted them out. “It is finished!” so He continually pleads His righteous blood and finished work before the Father on our behalf.

So:

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” Heb 4:16;

In my past experience the gym has been little more than an embarrassing place to sweat and socialize with fellow self conscious masochists (no offense to my gym member readership). Of course I am probably projecting my own shortcomings onto gym memberships more than I realize.

It just seems to me that gyms generally involve more “pea-cocking” than actual personal fitness.

On a more positive note, I’ve consistently kept an at home workout routine going for the past month. (GO ME!) I don’t want to be one of those coaches (football and track) who demand their athletes to be in tip shape while personally sporting a portly waist and diet that could feed a sizable family of grizzly bears. There have been a few short relapses hither and thither, but overall I’ve cut down on Goliath portions and diabetes inducing drinks.

Josiah, my three year old, likes to join in on the circuit weight training workouts. He can fling around his mom’s 3 pound plastic weights like a champ. His little boy frame will be beach-body ready come summer time. : ) Afterwards, he always asks, “Can I have a smoothie?” He must think I put ice cream in it.

On a work note, I had two athletes earn District Champs last week in track and field in the long jump (22’8″) and high jump (6’4″). Yesterday, I traveled with them to Regionals in Jacksonville and my high jumper qualified for state next week with another jump of 6’4″. So back to Jacksonville I’ll go with him as he competes with the best of the best in the state. The state track meet coincides with the start of spring football practice, so needless to say it will be a busy few days.

In Algebra class we also have Finals, EOCs, FCATs, and many other educational and professional hoops to hurdle before school ends in June. A deadline is also fast approaching for me to finish all my remaining online educator classes and teacher certification tests that will finally earn me a permanent educator certificate.

I say all this to let you know: If you don’t hear from me a consistent basis the next month or so, it’s not because I don’t love you dearly like a German kid loves sauerkraut! It’s not you, it’s me….promise. And in the midst of all the gratuitous sweating and sports I’ll try to remember with you:

Bodily training is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:8)

A story out of Norway is causing a stir worldwide. Many people are baffled by the lack of justice that the Norwegian government is showing in the Anders Behring Breivik case. Breivik is accused of killing 77 people on July 22, 2011 in a bombing and shooting rampage. Not only is Breivik accused of these crimes but he has admitted to committing the crimes saying:

I took the gun out and thought it was now or never, and it seemed like a year.

and,

‘It was extremely hard to shoot that first shot, it is contrary to human nature. But after that it became easier,’ he said. ‘To take a human life is the most extreme you can do, but you weigh that against superior motives.’ –NDTV.com

From our perspective this case is open and shut. This man has taken the lives of 77 people and should be punished accordingly. However…